CANNES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--From the annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced an expanded
partnership with Design
Hotels™ AG (FRA:LBA), which consumers will see as an 11th
Starwood brand. The move comes just seven months after Starwood launched
its 10th brand, Tribute
Portfolio. Since 2011, Starwood has been a majority but passive
investor in the Berlin-based Design Hotels™, which for more
than two decades has served as a global distribution, sales and
marketing affiliation for nearly 300 independently owned and operated
hotels and resorts united by the vision of bold, diverse hoteliers,
known as “Originals.”

Select member hotels of Design Hotels™ are now bookable
through Starwood’s
websites, mobile apps and global network of Customer Contact
Centers, giving Starwood
Preferred Guest (SPG®) Members more access to
one-of-a-kind experiences in high-demand destinations. Guests who book
directly through Starwood channels will now receive select SPG benefits
and earn Starpoints during their stays at participating member hotels of
Design Hotels™. The partnership will also boost exposure for
Design Hotels™ across Starwood’s industry-leading
distribution and loyalty platforms, while further introducing Starwood
Hotels and its award-winning SPG program to a new set of global
travelers.

“Starwood’s hotel guests and SPG members will see our new marketing
partnership with Design Hotels™ as an 11th
Starwood brand. It will create a special niche in our distinct portfolio
of global brands and offer more options for travelers to stay with us
around the world,” said Adam Aron, Starwood CEO on an interim basis.
“These independent, design-forward hotels will benefit from Starwood’s
powerful loyalty and distribution platforms. They will also serve to
help us enhance owner and shareholder returns and attract more
high-value guests to SPG who make up more than half of all Starwood
stays.”

The first SPG partner hotels include the Gramercy Park Hotel in
New York City, Ten Bompas in Johannesburg, South Africa, the
C-Hotel in Lake Como, Italy, Nira Montana in La Thuile,
Italy, Nira Alpina in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Kruisherenhotel
Maastricht in the Netherlands. In addition, the ION Luxury
Adventure Hotel in Iceland, the Tribe Hotel in Kenya as well
as Grupo Habita’s hotels in Mexico will join prior to year end.
In early 2016, member hotels of Design Hotels™ will join from
major destinations, including London (Town Hall Hotel), Istanbul (Gezi
Istanbul), Shanghai (The Waterhouse at South Bund), Athens (New
Hotel), Singapore (Wanderlust), France (Les Bains),
and South Korea (nest hotel). With 296 affiliated hotels in a
wide variety of settings, from great capital cities to beach retreats,
mountain resorts, offbeat spots, and far beyond, more member hotels of
the Design Hotels™ portfolio are expected to sign up over the
next 12 months. With a passion for cultural authenticity and genuine
hospitality, Design Hotels™ embraces properties across
premium and luxury segments that are crafted with the purpose of
providing lasting memories for locals and travelers alike.

“Since launching Design Hotels™ more than 20 years ago, we have built an
engaged community of followers and an outstanding portfolio of hotels
created by artisans whose visions provide guests with a meaningful and
original experience,” said Claus Sendlinger, founder and CEO of Design
Hotels™. “As we continue to grow in our niche of the ‘New
Luxury Segment,’ we are excited to see an initial selection of our
member hotels take the opportunity to join SPG and be among the first to
benefit from our partnership with Starwood. We expect more and more to
take advantage, with at least 40 member hotels projected to join by the
beginning of 2016.”

SPG Members who book stays at participating member hotels of Design
Hotels™ through Starwood channels will receive the following
benefits:

Two Starpoints per eligible U.S. dollar spent (three Starpoints for
Gold Preferred and Platinum Preferred Members)

Night and stay credit toward elite status

On-property benefits of high-speed Internet access and bottled water
in-room

Gold Preferred and Platinum Preferred Members will automatically
receive a Starpoints bonus as their Welcome Gift

Free Night redemption is planned to be available as of March 2016

“This is an exciting new partnership for our SPG Members,” said Mark
Vondrasek, Starwood’s Senior Vice President, Commercial Services. “Our
concentration of high-end hotel brands plus partnerships with companies
like Delta, Uber, American Express, and Emirates Airline—and now Design
Hotels™—continue to raise the stakes in loyalty and make it very
compelling for travelers to choose to stay with Starwood.”

Design Hotels™ will continue to operate independently from
Starwood under the leadership of Sendlinger and his team in Berlin,
Germany. The expanded partnership with Starwood offers a distribution
and loyalty benefit to member hotels and does not change the business
model of Design Hotels™, whose sales, marketing and
development teams will remain distinct.

About Design Hotels™Design
Hotels™ represents and markets a curated selection of over 290
independent hotels in more than 50 countries across the globe. All
hotels are united by thought-provoking design and architecture;
integration into the local scene; a strong identity; cultural and
environmental responsibility; and the people behind each property, Originals,
whose hotels become creative gathering points and cultural
institutions for both travelers and members of the surrounding
community. Each Original is crafting his or her hotel with the
purpose of creating original experiences and unexpected moments that
provide lasting memories. Founded by Claus Sendlinger in 1993, Design
Hotels™ offers its members insightful travel industry knowledge, from
market trend consultancy to international sales representation. The
company has its headquarters in Berlin and branches in London,
Barcelona, New York, and Singapore. www.designhotels.com